Intergenerational Transmission of Religion: Does Mother's Working Behaviour Make a Difference?

Abstract

This paper examines the consequence of the rise in mothers participating in the labour market on the transmission of religion to her children. We consider two measures of religion: religious belief and religious practice. Our bivariate probit model shows that a youth whose mother stayed at home during his childhood is more likely to have the same religious affiliation as her, even after controlling for various background factors. Furthermore, estimates using ordered probit regression indicate that maternal employment is insignificant in affecting transmission of religious practice to her youth offspring. Instead, we find evidence of intergenerational transmission of religious participation between mother and youth, with a stronger transmission when the mother is more religiously active. The results suggest that while the mothera??s labour supply decision is a factor in transmitting religious belief, it is her own example of attendance at religious services that influences her youth offspringa??s religious practice.